WT United Sockers: Becerra's leadership, skills will be key in weekend stretch

Travis MetcalfSports Writer

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, July 2, 2009

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WT United Sockers: Becerra's leadership, skills will be key in weekend stretch

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By Travis Metcalf

Sports Writer

West Texas United Sockers player-assistant coach Giber Becerra would normally spend the Independence Day holiday with family, and friends, playing games, watching concerns, laying out in the sun and enjoying some fireworks in the mild night air.

However, this year both for him and the West Texas United Sockers (4-3-3), Independence Day won't be fun and games. The Sockers will have a pre-game dinner on Thursday in honor of the holiday, but that's going to be the extent of the holiday celebration.

The Sockers play a crucial stretch of games today and Saturday when the Sockers play host to last-place Houston today and first-place El Paso on Saturday. Both games are at 7:30 p.m. at Grande Communications Stadium.

Becerra said this will be the first time he's ever played a game on July 4 and partying isn't on his or the players' minds heading into this important stretch.

"They're definitely must-win games," the 28-year-old midfielder said who played at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix and has been in the United States for 15 years after moving Hermosillo, Mexico.

Becerra scored a goal in the June 25 game against the Patriots (7-4-1) to give the Sockers a 3-1 lead in the 73rd minute. The Sockers ended up settling for a 3-3 tie.

For Becerra, his role is to lead by example as the Sockers prepare for the final stretch of games that will decide the first-year team's fate in the playoff chase.

"I'm such a perfectionist," Becerra said. "I'm always looking to get better in every part of my game. My last game I was happy with my performance because I met some of my own personal objectives like getting out there and attacking more."

The Sockers are in a fight for their playoff lives and this weekend will go a long way towards deciding if the Sockers get back into the race or fall further behind.

That tie put the Sockers into fifth place, six points behind third-place Laredo which is the last playoff spot. The Sockers are also four points behind fourth-place Rio Grande Valley.

The Sockers will be playing without defender Raul Franco in Friday's game against Houston (0-9-3) when he received his second yellow card in the match for taking off his shirt after elebrating a goal he scored in the 60th minute to give WTU a 2-1 lead. It was his first goal of the season.

That forced the Sockers to play a man down for the final 30 minutes of the game and Becerra got his team to rally for 20 minutes, but the Sockers couldn't hold off El Paso's offensive attack in the final 10 minutes.

The good news for the Sockers is this, while they lose Franco for a game, they won't be down a man as midfielder Michael James will replace Franco in the backfield with Isa Miramontes also taking up some playing time.

Becerra said while his team will miss Franco, they've got some experience backing him up.

"Raul is a key player," Becerra said. "We're going to miss him. Michael James had a lot of playing time during the beginning of the season until Raul came in and did a great job and started playing that role more. (James) knows what he's supposed to be doing. Isa is a younger player but he's been getting some minutes to."

Sockers coach Jesus Enriquez said it's situations like these that he hired Becerra to be an assistant coach. Becerra has a lot of experience at this level including playing for El Paso Indios and the Arizona Sahuaros, both in the National Premier Development League.

"He's a good player both inside the field and outside," Enriquez said. "He's always trying to give good advice to the players and he's a good role model. He's a player with a lot of experience and that's why he's the captain of the team."

Notes & Quotes: The Sockers will come out onto the field with a different look heading into this weekend's games. They will wear red, white and blue uniforms in honor of the Independence Day holiday when they play Houston today and El Paso on Saturday. … This is the second time this season the Sockers have played back-to-back games. The last time was June 12-13 when the Sockers beat Rio Grande Valley, 2-1, but lost to Austin, 3-1. Both games were at Grande Communications Stadium. … Houston comes into today's game in last place in the PDL Mid-South Division with three points off of three ties. With first-place El Paso looming over the horizon, it's easy to see why the Sockers might look past Houston, especially with what happened the last time the Sockers and El Paso played. On June 25, the Sockers held a 3-1 lead but gave up two goals late and settled for a tie. However, Sockers coach Jesus Enriquez said these two games are so important, there is no way they can look past Houston. "The team is focused on these two games," Enriquez said. "They know how very important they are to us. There's no other option, we have to win both (if we want to make the playoffs)." … The Sockers will have the added handicap of playing without Raul Franco today. Franco received a second yellow card during the second half against El Paso. After scoring a goal, he ripped off his jersey in celebration, an automatic yellow card. Tacked on to the yellow card he received in the first half of that game, that turned into a red card and a one-game suspension. However, he will be back for Saturday's game against El Paso. Michael James will replace Raul in the backfield today. "Raul is one of our best defenders," Enriquez said. "MJ was playing where Raul was playing earlier in the season until Raul won the spot and now it's a new chance for Michael to show how good of a defender he is." … There will be fireworks after both games on Friday and Saturday. Outside of Tuesday's exhibition game against FC Dallas, these will be the Sockers last two regular season home games. The Sockers finish the PDL season with four games on the road, beginning July 10 against Dallas-Fort Worth.